Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 77

“Phew.”

As Suho stopped attacking, a heavy silence fell.

The moment Lee Minseong, who had clung so persistently to life, died, the corrupted ghouls around them collapsed all at once, like puppets with their strings cut.

The corrupted wasps that had darkened the sky also disappeared to somewhere unknown.

‘Unbelievable…’

Baek Miho, who had been rushing to assist Suho, stood still, staring at him in disbelief.

It was an unimaginable scene.

Even though they had fought together, a C-rank hunter had overpowered an A-rank villain with sheer force.

‘That man really is…’

Baek Miho silently speculated about Suho’s true identity.

Amid this suffocating stillness, Suho himself was preoccupied reading the flood of system messages that noisily appeared.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

[You have defeated the Queen’s Spearman.]

[Your level has increased!]

[Your level has increased!]

[Your level has increased!]

‘Amazing.’

Gaining three levels at once made all the struggle worthwhile.

Suho’s level now stood at 32.

But surprisingly, the messages weren’t over.

Ding.

[The player has reached the required level.]

[You have met the completion conditions for the ‘Secret Quest: Qualification of the Legion Commander.’]

[You have unread messages.]

‘Required level? Qualification of the Legion Commander?’

As Suho, looking puzzled, tried to check the message, his body suddenly swayed.

Rumble!

“…!”

The ground began shaking as if it would collapse.

No, the entire space itself was crumbling.

[My Liege! You must get out of here immediately!]

Beru urgently urged Suho.

Crack! Crrrack!

At that moment, the sky was tearing apart in all directions.

[If you delay any longer, you could be trapped here forever!]

Lee Minseong had sacrificed many offerings to forcibly pull this incomplete dungeon, the Sanctuary of Insects, into Earth.

Whether he realized it or not, that was exactly the role the Queen Bee Arsha had intended for him as a priest.

But with Lee Minseong’s death, that forced control disappeared, and the sanctuary was attempting to return to the dimensional rift where it belonged.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Suho postponed checking the messages and looked back at Baek Miho and Im Taegyu.

Im Taegyu, who had been staring at Lee Minseong’s lifeless body, clenched his eyes shut and turned away.

He glanced at Suho with a complex expression and spoke.

“There’s a lot I want to ask, but let’s get out of here first.”

“Me too.”

Baek Miho’s face showed she also had plenty to say.

The three hurriedly escaped from the Sanctuary of Insects.

Just before Suho left the sanctuary, he paused and glanced back.

‘I worked hard to take him down; it’d be a waste to leave it behind.’

He stretched out his hand toward Lee Minseong’s lifeless body lying on the ground.

‘Ruler’s Authority.’

Swoosh.

An invisible force lifted one of Lee Minseong’s severed arms.

It was already a deformed shape, hardly recognizable as human—an arm with a long spear instead of a hand—drawn to Suho like a magnet.

With a meaningful smile, Suho left the sanctuary.

* * *

The aftermath was handled swiftly.

The moment Lee Minseong, the root of all the chaos, died, the rampaging ghouls in the city all simultaneously ceased moving, ending the catastrophe in an instant.

This was due to the corrupted Royal Jelly that had permeated their bodies losing its power.

Im Taegyu promptly called for a specialized detox healer and managed to overcome the poisoning.

“Haa. I really almost died this time. Should I hire a personal food taster now? My next secretary will have to be a detox specialist.”

Im Taegyu muttered with an exhausted expression, repeatedly vowing to himself.

Meanwhile, Baek Miho mobilized all the resources of the White Tiger Guild to secure casualties and missing persons.

On the other hand, the Reaper Guild was not in a position to do the same.

Though the incident was resolved, the Reaper Guild had suffered massive losses.

Thankfully, most elite hunters above B-rank were intact, but the loss of most C-rank and lower hunters was a significant blow.

While new recruits could always be hired…

‘Who would want to join our guild now? I’m more worried about those who might leave. Sigh.’

Im Taegyu looked up at the sky where Lee Minseong’s hive once hovered.

Somehow, he could almost imagine Lee Minseong flipping him off from up there.

‘Damn you.’

Maybe his mother was right about choosing friends wisely.

“…Oh, right. Secretary Oh!”

Suddenly, Im Taegyu remembered Secretary Oh, who had betrayed him by stabbing him with a poisoned needle, and frantically looked around.

But no matter how much he searched, Secretary Oh was nowhere to be found.

‘Something feels off.’

A strange feeling crept over him.

Secretary Oh was someone Im Taegyu had personally hired.

He was competent and sociable enough to get along well.

When did he become a traitor?

Or was he even human to begin with?

* * *

At that very moment.

‘Secretary Oh’ was mingled among the crowd, watching everything with a blank expression.

As he turned to leave the scene—

Buzz.

The faint sound of wings flapping was heard, and his face shifted into the appearance of Queen Bee Arsha without anyone noticing.

But Arsha’s expression looked even more drained than Im Taegyu’s.

“…How futile.”

The priest was dead, and the ritual was ruined.

All the plans she had prepared had crumbled in a single day.

“The plan was flawless.”

Yes.

Looking back, her plan had been perfect.

Hiding in the shadows, building a lair.

Slowly increasing her worker bees.

Meticulously crafting the priest.

Offering sacrifices to conduct the ritual for the deceased Querehsha.

Although there had been an incident where the priest left on his own, such a small miscalculation was not significant.

If anything, it acted as a catalyst to hasten her plan.

But there was just one mistake…

‘Not getting rid of that human.’

Arsha focused her gaze on Suho in the distance.

She had sensed something ominous about him from the start.

She should have killed him when she had the chance, but doing so ended with all her worker bees being taken by him instead.

Seeking revenge… was currently out of the question. Right now, survival was her priority.

“…Is this the power of a successor?”

Arsha’s eyes gleamed with fierce desire as she looked at Suho.

Yes. She had to admit it.

From the moment she encountered that human, she stood no chance.

That human…

“Is Rakan’s successor.”

Truly befitting the successor of the Beast Monarch, the Fang of the Beast King.

With the power she had yet to fully attain, it was only natural she couldn’t defeat him.

Which made her want it even more.

“When I become a Monarch, I’ll have that kind of power too.”

Thankfully, the Monarch of Insects had not been inherited today.

Having confirmed this crucial fact with her own eyes—

“Today, I’ll retreat, Beast King Crow.”

But one day, without fail…

Arsha’s form dissolved into the air as she swallowed the rest of her words.

* * *

Back at his home, Suho held two business cards in his hand.

They belonged to Baek Miho and Im Taegyu.

He had received the business cards of the president and vice-president of two major guilds in Korea—guilds that every hunter aspired to join.

– I’ll let you go for today because we’re busy!

– Make sure you call tomorrow! You must!

Despite being bombarded by reporters during the aftermath, they had forced their cards into Suho’s hands.

They had even taken his phone number, just to be sure.

“Feels like I got scouted on the street.”

[Not inaccurate, my liege.]

Shiver!

Beru, looking immensely proud, responded to Suho’s comment.

[When someone is so outstandingly attractive, people might approach them for their number; similarly, your combat prowess is so remarkable, my liege! Ah, how you’ve grown so magnificent…]

“Don’t overdo it.”

Ignoring Beru, who was tearing up with joy, Suho casually tossed the cards onto his desk.

‘Joining a major guild would be nice, sure.’

There was a reason big corporations had a reputation.

Even beyond a high salary, the benefits of being in a major guild were enormous.

They lent out expensive, high-quality equipment based on rank and experience.

They even had spacious, durable training facilities that wouldn’t collapse under intense mana usage.

Other hunters might not grow stronger through leveling like Suho, so they needed even more training.

It was all to use their given power as effectively and strategically as possible.

“But I already have all that.”

That was the problem.

Good weapons? Suho had the store interface.

As long as he had enough gold, he could buy whatever equipment he wanted.

A spacious training ground?

Was there any other hunter in the world with a training facility as vast and extensive as Suho’s?

Suho inserted a key into his shadow.

[Are you going in now?]

“Yeah. There’s something I need to check.”

Click.

[Would you like to enter the Shadow Dungeon?]

(Y/N)

“I’m going in.”

[Entering the Shadow Dungeon.]

Swoosh!

Suho’s vision was instantly washed over with shades of black and white.

He found himself standing in the Shadow Dungeon’s Body Strengthening training ground, Amut’s Pyramid.

Amut, who had been waiting for Suho’s arrival, stood up with a wicked smile on his enormous face.

[You’re finally here. Let’s begin training.]

Grrr!

“Wait, hold on! Not yet!”

Suho quickly stopped Amut, who was about to start the Body Strengthening training without warning.

Amut, halfway through turning his form into spirit mode, frowned.

[Is there something else you need to do?]

“Yeah. Something important.”

Sighing with relief, Suho turned his attention to the message that had been lingering before his eyes.

[You have met the completion conditions for the ‘Secret Quest: Qualification of the Legion Commander.’]

[You have unread messages.]

Taking a deep breath, Suho checked the message.

[Secret Quest: Qualification of the Legion Commander]

The player has proven their qualifications by reaching the required level.

Become the Commander of the Shadow Legion and cultivate your own army.

“Could this be…”

Suho’s eyes widened.

And at that moment—

Swoosh!

The shadows beneath his feet surged upward, emitting soundless roars.

The noise was grand and intimidating, like the battle songs of soldiers heading into war, or perhaps like an eerie requiem.

Ding.

[You have learned the skill: Shadow Storage.]

“Shadow Storage?”

[Keheee?!]

Before Suho could finish speaking, Beru shrieked in astonishment.

[My goodness! My liege has finally been acknowledged by the Lord!]